"The British Raj was the rule of the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The rule is also called Crown rule in India, or Direct rule in India. The region under British control was commonly called India in contemporaneous usage, and included areas directly administered by the United Kingdom, which were collectively called British India, and those ruled by Indian rulers, but under British tutelage or paramountcy, and called the princely states. The resulting political union was also called the Indian Empire and after 1876 issued passports under that name."